Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Out of the Silent Planet notes


Mostly a guilty pleasure for me, so I have a pretty-much-permanent place for them, but also perhaps for you, if you are interested in C.S. Lewis’s masterpiece of Christian science fiction, Out of the Silent Planet

22 chapters + a postscript
153 pages in my 1996 Scribner paperback edition

Human characters
Dr. Elwin Ransom
Devine
Weston
Harry, young assistant to Weston and Devine (brief)
Harry’s mother (brief)
Lewis himself, unnamed

Malacandra – Mars
Perelandra – Venus
Thulcandra – Earth
Glundandra – Jupiter

Malcandrian animals – silver eels, giraffe-like herd animals
Hnakra (pl. Hnéraki) – barracuda-sharks

3 intelligent species on Malacandra:
Hross (pl. hrossa, hressni)
Sorn (pl. séroni)
Pfifltriggi

Vocabulary
Handra – earth, dirt, ground
Handramit – valley
Harandra – mountain
Honodraskrud – pinkish weed
Thulc – silent
Hnau – sentient, embodied being
“bent” – bad / evil / wrong
Arbol hru – Sun’s blood (gold)
? – Star’s milk (silver?)
Hnakra-punt (pl. hnakrapunti) – Hnakra slayer


Malacandra ruled by Oyarsa, who lives in Meldilorn
Sentient, non-embodied beings – Eldil (pl. Eldila)

Maleldil the Young – Christ-like figure
The Old One – lives with Maleldil the Young

Hrossa names
Hyoi – hross who finds Ransom
Hnohra – older hross who teaches Ransom the language
Hrikki – name of a young hressni
Whin – Hyoi’s friend and boat-mate
Hleri – Hyoi’s wife
Hyahi – Hyoi’s brother
Hnoh
Hnihi
Hlithnahi

Sorn names
Augray – main Sorn who teaches Ransom
Arkal
Belmo
Falmay

Pfifltriggi names
Kanakaberaka – main Pfifltriggi who speaks with Ransom
Kalakaperi
Parakataru
Tafulakeruf
Firikitekila

And the miscellaneous 12th century Platonist, Bernardus Silvestris


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